A Southern California woman fended off a bear with her laptop after she was attacked by the animal in her backyard, according to multiple reports.
The 19-year-old woman said she was taking a nap in her backyard on Monday in Sierra Madre, located near the San Gabriel Mountains, when she was awaken by a bear, ABC 7 reported.
“She awoke to the sound of a bear approaching her,” said Patrick Foy, the captain of the California Fish and Wildlife Department. “It immediately attacked.”
“The bear really viciously started to scratch her and then started to bite into her and the only thing she could do is to grab her laptop and start hitting the bear with it. And that managed to break the bear loose and she ran inside,” he added.
“The only weapon she had was her laptop. She hit the bear with it and stunned it long enough to escape inside the house,” Foy said.
The woman did not receive life-threatening injuries, Fox News reported, and she is currently recuperating at home.
Foy said the attack was unprovoked and that the bear was aggressive.
“It’s likely she was looked at as prey,” Foy speculated.
DNA swabs were taken from the woman’s wounds, and those were compared with DNA samples of two bears that were captured on Tuesday, but neither matched the profile of the offending bear. Both bears will be released.
California has had an increased number of animal attacks and dangerous animal encounters, according to Foy. Animal interactions and attacks are usually rare.
“We’ve had three mountain lion attacks in California since January and we’ve had one coyote attack in Orange County and this bear attack two days ago. It’s not something that’s common,” Foy said, ABC 7 reported.
In 2019, a homeless man was attacked by a bear around the same area and was never caught.
However, the news of this attack didn’t dissuade people from other areas near the mountain.
“I’m not too concerned. I’m going with a few people so we’re just going to aware of our surroundings and this is their home so we’ll just respect it,” said Christina DeLeon of Lakewood, one of many people heading to Chantry Flat for a hike.
The bear that attacked the woman has not yet been found. If or when it is, that bear will be euthanized.
California is home to only black bears, even though some are brown. There are no wild grizzlies in the state.
The CNN Wire contributed to this report
